“Did you think we were stupid? Did you think we would fall? Did you think we’ll be living our whole lives against a wall?… This time we’ll go further.. we’ll go further from here… Further to a world we’ll make our own… and disappear.” Somehow this sounds so apt for this time… politically… This could [...]
Archive for the ‘Reflections’ Category
The Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is perhaps the ministry which gets the most flak. The reason is simple: it is at the frontline of providing aid to the needy. And any failings in doing this attract criticisms – some of which can be stinging. MCYS looks after the most vulnerable groups [...]
When I was a kid, I didn’t care very much for school. My sole reason for getting up in the morning was so I could join my friends, before class started, to play football. And we did – before class, during recess, and after school. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it and I have [...]
I spent some time yesterday afternoon speaking with a 10-year old boy. He’s in primary 4 and is in the Gifted Education Programme (GEP). He loves to read and could bury himself in the library for hours. And mind you, he reads stuff like World War 2 (his favourite topic), history, science, etc. He would [...]
He was a young man. Early to mid-20s. Contrary to what some may think, he wasn’t at all downtrodden with sad demeanour or immersed in self-pity. In fact, he always had a smiling face and would speak animatedly about things. Life hadn’t been too kind to him, though, and he ended in the predicament he [...]
I was, as usual, going for my morning kopi and to read the news at the coffeeshop. It was quite sunny this morning. As I walked under the void deck, I noticed this elderly woman. She must be in her 70s, and she was pushing this trolly along, making her way to the markets across [...]
Many Singaporeans have been campaigning to save the life of Yong Vui Kong. His story, the court trials and appeals – both to the Court of Appeal and the President – have been reported and documented. You can read about these here. Appeals and pleas have been made to the authorities, namely the government and [...]
The picture above reminds me of the time in January 2010 when I took a walk at Sembawang Park. I’d moved there to live with some homeless people in a shelter (which I did for some 3 months). The home was conveniently located just across the park. The very first morning there, I woke up [...]
“Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials.” ~Meryl Streep I was having my usual cuppa at the coffeeshop this morning. It was raining, the ground was wet and people were more careful than usual, not unexpectedly, of course, with every step they take. I was on my way home, having had [...]
Just posting this two videos here as a reminder to myself to remember always that there are others who go through more – and keep going despite the odds and obstacles. Stories like these two put things in perspective. There are people out there who are going through more struggle and heartache than perhaps those [...]
Hearing his story (and having interviewed him), I wondered to myself: “How does he really feel about his chequered life?” He’s spent almost half his adult life in prison, being jailed several times – two of those times for stretches of more than 10 years each time.
Modernity is an endless march. One which is relentless as science, technology and economic progress take the human race further. Yet, it is not all a smooth ride. In its wake, progress (here I mean moving forward rather than the other notion of “positive development”) will leave a trail of questions – about identity, about [...]
“Mr Lee was signalling that times have changed. And that he and his team are entering a new phase of engagement with the people,” said media consultant PN Balji, who is the former editor in chief of the Today newspaper, referring to Prime Minister’s Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech. PM Lee had said [...]
Why does this song – by the Beatles – have such a hold on me?
